The Only One
by PASSI0N
Summary: Despite all the madness she puts him through, she's the only one who can make him feel this way. A series of separate oneshots featuring Korra and Mako.
1. Ice Skating

Ice Skating: Korra takes Mako to the South Pole to meet her parents, Katara, and most importantly, to grab the opportunity to mess with him. Because Korra totally would.

Genre: Romance/Humor

* * *

Mako knew it was a bad idea to let Korra take him to, as she so ambiguously worded it, "have some fun."

"Korra...what are we doing here?" Mako asked stiffly. "I thought we were here to meet your parents and Sifu Katara."

"We're just having some fun," she repeated in a suspicious way that made Mako suspicious that he wouldn't have fun at all. "Besides, you just met all of them, do you really want to spend the entire time here with them? Put these on."

She handed him a pair of shoes with blades attached to the bottom of them. Ice skates. Mako had never ice skated before, but he had seen it before in pictures.

He took them reluctantly.

"No way am I doing this," he called out to Korra on the ice.

Of course, stubborn Korra wouldn't take no for an answer. She skated back and stopped abruptly, coating him with a thin layer of ice that melted almost immediately.

"What's the problem?" she asked him in an innocent voice. "If you're scared, we could always go back to the village and play Pai Sho like old men. Because apparently this is too difficult for you."

He glared at her. She really loved taunting him. And he hated the fact that it bothered him so much. So he sighed, and sat down and started tying the skates.

Mako stood up and felt his legs wobble on the thin blades. He stepped slowly and cautiously onto the icy surface, and immediately regretted it. He felt no traction in his skates, and he knew he just wasn't cut out to be an ice skater. He hated this feeling of being so far away from his native element, and the cold was threatening to engulf him. He already wanted to be back on land.

But then he turned his head and saw Korra grinning at him smugly, and he knew he there was no turning back.

So he took a deep breath, and continued onto the unrelenting ice.

He awkwardly made his way to the center of the frozen pond, one step at a time. It was obvious he had no idea how to skate. He was actually lifting his feet up each time he wanted to move forward, rather than gliding his feet how he should have. He didn't know any better; he had never gone to ice skating rinks in Republic City.

He made it impressively far into the pond without falling, so he gave Korra a look that said, _Told you I could do it. _

Rather than admit defeat, she giggled, _giggled_ at him.

"Mako, you look like a turtle duck on land. You're supposed to glide your feet, not step."

Blushing furiously out of embarrassment, Mako attempted to glide the way Korra had done.

And then he slipped – and fell forward on the ice, his chin hitting the cold surface.

"Need help, duck feet?"

He sighed in defeat and crossed his arms stubbornly, like a child that has just lost a game.

"Just get me out of here."

"What!" Korra gasped. "You haven't even skated yet! We never even did the fun part yet!"

"I don't care," he said glumly. "I want out."

"Mako," she said, squatting down to his eye level. "Come on. Let me lead you. It'll be fun – I promise!"

Mako groaned. He now hated ice skating with a passion. He was in pain, and he was morbidly embarrassed to have fallen in front of Korra. He knew that there was nothing that she got more pleasure out of than seeing him humiliate himself.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, but-"

"Then take my hand."

"But-"

"Hey. Cool guy. Just shut up and take my hand."

He rolled his eyes before he obliged, but he couldn't help but suppress a smile.

* * *

The skating was awkward. Korra lead, and Mako glided behind her, not really making any movements on his own. It was strangely pleasant. In fact, it was almost like flying, and Mako actually thought it was kind of thrilling, in a pleasant way that he could only enjoy with someone like Korra.

That was, until she made too sharp of a turn, causing him to lose his footing – and then he fell on his butt on the ice, and slid at least ten feet.

He hissed at the searing pain in his behind, and glared at Korra for making him fall. But instead of repenting for her action like she should have, Korra did, well, what was expected of Korra – she burst into a fit of hysterics.

Mako was seething in annoyance; he was burning holes through the ice where his hands were.

"That," Korra taunted, "is for being a jerk."

"I repeat what I said about you when I first met you: you're crazy."

Korra held out her hand to him once again, and he takes it again with no hesitation. And this time, instead of just holding hands, Korra took the initiative and laced her fingers in between his.

"W-what are you doing?" he stammered.

She grinned at the obvious blush that heated up his cheeks. "Just making sure you don't fall," she said simply.

Their hands didn't break away from each other's until long after they were off the ice.

* * *

"So how was your first time ice skating?"

"It was...nice," Mako admitted, almost shyly.

Korra grinned at him.

"But it was a pain in the ass. Literally."

"We could always have one of the healers heal it for you," she remarked snidely.

"I think I'll take my chances with the pain," he muttered grumpily.

"I know what will cheer you up! Tomorrow we can go penguin sledding!"

"Oh dear Agni."

Korra couldn't help but laugh. And her laugh made him laugh in turn, and as soon as he saw her smile, he remembered why, despite all the madness she puts him through, she's the only one who can stir up that warm feeling in his chest.

* * *

A/N: Fluff, everywhere!

I have no idea where the inspiration for this came from, but I had fun writing it.

This is completely unlike what I usually write - one of the first times I've written something not angsty.

Thanks for reading! ^^


	2. Guilt

Guilt: Korra confronts Mako about his feelings for her, not knowing the real reason he hasn't told her yet.

Genre: Romance/Angst

* * *

"Admit it. You like me."

"H-how...did you know?" Mako asked her quietly.

He refused to make eye contact with Korra – he was too embarrassed. He had feelings for her, strong feelings at that, which wouldn't really be so bad under normal circumstances. But his brother had feelings for her too, and he just couldn't do that to Bolin.

"You're incredibly obvious, you know? I see the way you look at me - I can read you like an open book," she told him smugly.

He laughed humorlessly in response, and turned his head away, but Korra grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him towards her so he had no choice but to look at her.

In a low, serious voice that is rare from Korra, she murmured to him, "Really, though, fire boy, I'm not wrong? There's no doubts, no jokes, nothing? You like me?"

He felt an involuntary shudder go up his spine, either from her true accusation or from being in such close vicinity to her, he didn't know. His throat clicked when he swallowed. His palms were getting sweaty, and his heart was pounding furiously in his chest. Even though his face was inches from hers, he was still attempting to avoid her gaze by looking down at his shoes.

"Yeah..." he admitted, still looking down at his feet.

"Then...kiss me."

He gasped, and looked up at him. And she looked so solemn, so serious. And she looked so beautiful.

"N-No. Korra, no way. I just can't do that..." he stammered. He hated how weak he sounded; only Korra had that effect on him.

"Why not?"

_Man, there's something special about her! _

"Well..." he started, unsure what to say. He couldn't tell her about Bolin.

"You sure have a way with words, Oh Wise One," she teased. "Oh well, if you don't kiss me," the corners of her lips turned upward in a seductive smirk. "I'll just have to kiss you."

He wanted her with a passion he had never felt before. But Bolin was his little brother. His only family. How could he possibly go and kiss the girl he loved so dearly?

"I'm going to count from three," she said.

"Please, Korra, don't do this to me."

"Three," she breathed, her hands now gripping his face. As much as he knew he should have, Mako made no effort to pull away.

"Stop..." he whimpered unconvincingly.

"Two."

"Korra..."

"One."

She moved her head forward and closed the distance between their lips. There was no point in resisting now, so Mako guiltily soaked up her touch as he felt her lips on his. The only coherent thought going through his mind was, 'Agni, she really did it.'

One of her hands moved up from his face and tangled itself in his short hair. The other moved down to his back, and she pulled him closer, so that her body was pressed up against his.

Though physically, he remained stoic, not responding to her touch, he felt as if all his nerves were lit on fire. Wherever she touched him, he felt as if she had sent a bolt of electricity. His knees were wobbly, his arms were shaking, and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight. His frantic heart was desperately pounding in a pathetic attempt at keeping up with his unstable emotions. He could feel the pounding in his chest and in his head, and he knew Korra could feel it.

He had to force himself to think, 'You can't do this. Think about Bolin.'

But with Korra's chest pressed up against his, he could feel her heart pressed up against his. He could feel it pounding against his, and he couldn't help but wonder if that meant she was just as nervous as he. Did she feel as if her body were on fire? Did she feel like her heart was about to explode?

This though triggered something inside him, and his self-control snapped, and he could hold back no longer. He pushed back all thoughts of Bolin and focused only on Korra. As immoral as it was, he kissed her back with all the passion he could muster.

He wrapped his arms around her, one hand tangled in her ponytail and the other at the small of her back.

Mako knew Korra could feel the difference in his kissing, because as their lips danced together, he could feel her smiling.

Occasionally a nasty thought would probe his conscience about Bolin, but his mind was so foggy at the time that they were soon pushed out and forgotten. At this point, it really didn't matter anyway – all his bewildered mind could think about was the beautiful girl in front of him, kissing him.

He had no experience with kissing. It was his second time, and the first was a surprise attack (courtesy of Korra). And that kiss was nothing like this.

But he could tell that kissing wasn't one of those things you could force. You couldn't think about it, or it would show – he just went along with it.

Korra pushed him gently, and he felt himself pressed up against a wall. He was already dizzy and lightheaded from being so physically close with another person, and his legs were wobbly from the excitement. He slowly slid down the wall, his jelly-like legs slowly yielding, and brought Korra right down with him. He sat with his legs askew, and her legs lay right on top of his.

After what felt like forever, she finally pulled her lips from his, ever so slightly. Their arms were still wrapped around each other, as close as physically possible.

"Now I know for sure you weren't lying," she whispered.

"I'd never lie to you about that..." he breathed out, as if breaking the silence would destroy the fragile moment.

He thought he felt his heart just about break when he heard her quiet voice say, "Mako, I love you."

The silence that followed was heartbreaking. He wanted more than anything to tell her that he felt the same, but his love for Bolin stopped him from doing so. Instead, he turned his gaze away.

Korra broke the terrible silence first.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Goodbye, Mako. See you tomorrow," she said, emotionless. He had never seen Korra so solemn looking; he couldn't help but hear the hurt in her voice.

And then she was gone. The last thing he saw was the single tear that escaped her eye.

* * *

After she left, he could still feel his heart pounding. He knew he was a goner. He loved the warm feeling that arose in his chest when he thought of the moments they just shared together. She was the only person who could make him feel that way.

But then he remembered Bolin, his brother, the most important person to him. His only living family. He had never before wanted something so badly for himself. It had always been about Bolin. Keeping him safe. Protecting him. And the harder he thought about it, the more he knew that he and Korra couldn't be together.

And this made him so upset and confused that it made him cry in frustration.

* * *

A/N: Aaaaangst everywhere


	3. Lost Time

Lost Time: Amon has captured Korra and Mako, and they are about to be executed. They spend their final moments together in an Equalist cell.

Genre: Tragedy/Romance

* * *

Korra speaks. "We're going to die."

It isn't a question. It is a statement. And worse, it is the truth.

Seeing the hopeless look in Korra's eyes breaks Mako's heart. He wishes he could reassure her, tell her that everything will be okay, that they'll figure something out, but he can't. Because they both know it's a lie.

Right now, any hope he has is gone, just like the fire he once commanded.

So he nods. "This is it."

Silence follows, and for Korra, once the first tear falls, a million others follow. And she can't do a damn thing to stop them.

He does the only thing he really can; he grabs her, and holds her head gently to his heart. Normally, he is shy and awkward and doesn't know what to do in these situations, but there is no time.

They can no longer afford to be awkward; they are going to die. They cannot ignore their feelings. Up until now, they've been pretending they don't care about each other, but both know they can't live without the other.

So, when their lips meet, it is the most natural thing in the world.

What the two lack in experience, they make up for in passion. This is enough; they kiss as if it is as crucial as the need for food, for water, for oxygen.

In this moment, it is just them. There is no Amon, there is no war, there are no Equalists. She is not the Avatar, with the weight of the world perched on her shoulders.

They are Korra and Mako, two teenagers who are in desperately in love.

* * *

The door to their cell opens, and the terrifying face of Amon appears.

"You're first, Firebender."

Gold eyes meet blue, and both are glassy with tears.

"I love you!"

The words stumble awkwardly out of Korra's mouth before she can stop them. But even though she should be embarrassed that she's said it so bluntly, and she should be mortified that Amon is listening, she's not.

Because he's the only thing keeping her anchored to this world.

Because he's going to die.

Because nothing else matters to her.

"I love you too."

* * *

A/N: What the heck did i just write... this is so angsty and so cheesy, but I figured I'd post it anyway. I think I'm almost incapable of writing anything except for fluff and angst. *sigh*


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